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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present possible strategic actions that aim to recover the value still remaining in industrial waste. Design/methodology/approach The research method is a multiple case study. The sample included six Brazilian companies of the footwear, metal-mechanics, pulp and paper, beverages, chemical and food industries. The study investigated the production process, waste generation, internal reuse, the destination of unused waste, difficulties and strategic challenges. Findings Possible strategies to recover the value remaining in industrial waste are increasing the internal reuse, developing new routes to other industries, reducing the waste generation, increasing the destination to cooperatives or recycling companies, which require studies to understand the legislation and agility in licensing and reducing the logistical cost of the destination. Research limitations/implications The study relies on six case studies. Further research shall encompass an entire industry, starting with hypotheses derived from the cases. Practical implications The main barriers observed for reuse and recycling are uncertainties and ambiguities in the interpretation of legislation, the difficulty for the environmental licensing for recycling operations, excessive logistics costs for exploration opportunities and the lack of research to reduce the waste generation and to increase the internal reuse. Social implications Waste managed by scavengers’ cooperatives can offer jobs to the people of vulnerable communities. Originality/value The study offers robust hypotheses to be tested in a survey on the capacity of a waste management strategy to create competitive advantage in the industry. The study establishes a relationship between waste management and three competitive enablers, compliance, corporate image and green market.

The purpose of this article is to analyse the contribution of waste sorting plants to the reverse processes of supply chains. The research method is the double case study of two Brazilian waste sorting plants. The research techniques were the analysis of reports, interviews, participant observation, and statistical analysis of historical series of production. The qualitative part of the study concluded that the main roles of waste sorting plants are the supply of local industry with recycled low-cost raw material or to recover energy as fuel, environment development by reducing the use of controlled landfills, and social support to the municipality by reducing public health liabilities and generating jobs and income for vulnerable communities. The quantitative part of the study observed two systemic behaviours. In the first sorting plant, external elements reacted to an expressive increase of the production and limit the current outcome. The second sorting plant is a bottleneck. Despite the availability of waste and demand for recycled material, the sorting plant does not achieve increased production. Owing to the economic, environmental, and social importance of sorting plants to the region, further research should focus on these two systemic behaviours. The main contribution of the study is the integration of elements observed in supply chains and in waste management studies to form a plausible basis of hypotheses for a further survey. Another contribution is to offer information to practitioners on the importance of recycling in the reverse process of the supply chains.

123 Mestranda em Engenharia de Produção e Sistemas pelo PPGEPS UNISINOS -São Leopoldo, RS -Brasil 4Professor e pesquisador do PPGEPS UNISINOS -São Leopoldo, RS -Brasil ResumoO objetivo deste artigo foi analisar o funcionamento de duas cooperativas de catadores que fornecem resíduos processados que retornam a indústrias na cidade de São Leopoldo, RS. O método de pesquisa foi o estudo de caso em duas das seis cooperativas em operação na cidade. Foram consultados documentos das cooperativas e materiais produzidos pelo poder público municipal e realizadas observações não--participantes e entrevistas com os presidentes das cooperativas estudadas. Uma das cooperativas recebe apenas materiais da coleta seletiva, enquanto que a outra recebe toda a coleta domiciliar. A cooperativa que recebe apenas a coleta seletiva, apesar de ser mais recente e menos estruturada, oferece mais renda a seus cooperados. O material recuperado por ambas as cooperativas é vendido a intermediários que dão escala à operação e vendem à indústria como matéria-prima recuperada. Concluiu-se que o papel das cooperativas na cadeia reversa é o de recuperar materiais pós-consumo e atuar como abastecedor de matérias-primas da indústria. Adicionalmente, as cooperativas desempenham papel social junto a comunidades de baixa renda, por oferecerem alternativas de emprego e renda, e papel ambiental, por contribuir para a redução da pressão sobre aterros sanitários e incineração de resíduos sólidos urbanos.Palavras-chave: Cooperativas de Catadores, Resíduos Sólidos, Logística Reversa, Reciclagem, Reciclagem, Aterro Sanitário. AbstractThe objective of the article was to analyze the functioning of two cooperatives that provide processed waste required by industries in the city of São Leopoldo, RS. The research method was the double case study. Two out of the six cooperatives in operation in the city were studied. Documentation of the cooperative and produced by the municipal public authority were consulted, non-participant observations and interviews with the Presidents of cooperatives were made. One of the cooperatives receives only materials from selective collection, while the other receives the entire home collection. The cooperative that receives selected stuff, despite being more recent and less structured, provides more income to their members. The material recovered by both cooperatives is sold to intermediaries who give scale to the operation and sell to industry as recovered raw material. It was concluded that the role of cooperatives in the reverse chain is to retrieve post-consumer materials and act as a supplier of raw materials for industry. Additionally, cooperatives play social role to low-income communities, by providing jobs and income alternatives, and environmental role, by contributing to the reduction of pressure on landfills and incineration of municipal solid waste.